Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream is one of our family favorites and I end up making it often on special days. This homemade ice cream is a perfect dessert to serve a crowd during parties, potlucks, or to please your loved one on a special day like a birthday, anniversary, or Valentine's Day.

It is very easy to make this no cook, no egg strawberry cheesecake ice cream at home in the ice cream maker with just a few ingredients. Surprise your loved ones with the delicious creamy scoop of this irresistible ice cream and you are sure to receive a lot of compliments!

Ingredients

Homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream is made with cream cheese base, strawberry puree, and graham cracker crumble. Although it may sound daunting, making ice cream at home is very easy once you have all the ingredients.

The ice cream base is made with cream cheese, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and salt. The cream cheese is the main ingredient that gives the cheesecake ice cream its slightly tangy flavor.

Frozen or fresh strawberries can be used to make strawberry puree. If you are using the frozen strawberries, as I did, defrost them and squeeze out any excess water from them before blending. This will help avoid it from becoming icy after freezing.

Graham crackers are the heart of cheesecake ice cream which gives it the crunch when you indulge in a bite of this heavenly delicious ice cream. They are used to make graham cracker crumbles.

What is graham cracker crumble made of?

Graham cracker crumble are the crunchy bits you bite in the cheesecake ice creams. A cheesecake ice cream would be incomplete without it. It is made from coarsely crushed graham crackers which are mixed with some melted butter and sugar.

Is strawberry cheesecake ice cream gluten-free?

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream is not gluten-free as it uses graham crackers which have gluten. But you can easily make it gluten-free either by substituting them with a gluten-free graham crackers variety or omitting the crackers altogether.

Instructions

Homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream is easy to make in just 3 simple steps. The first step is to make the strawberry puree, the second step is to make the graham cracker crumble, and the final step is to churn the cream cheese base.

I have used frozen strawberries to make the strawberry puree but you can use fresh ones too. After defrosting and squeezing out excess water from the strawberries, blend it into a smooth puree with sugar or a sweetener.

This strawberry cheesecake ice cream is made with an ice cream maker. I have used the Cuisinart compressor ice cream maker to churn the ice cream. Depending on your ice cream maker, you may have to freeze the ice cream maker bowl for 24 hours.

If you are planning on buying an ice cream maker, you can check out this post on which ice cream maker to buy and a collection of ice cream maker recipes.

The cream cheese base is made by blending the cream cheese until it is smooth. You can do this with a hand blender or a stand mixer. It is important that the cream cheese is at room temperature else it will be difficult to blend it.

You want to ensure that there are no lumps from the cream cheese else you might end up with those chunks in the ice cream. Add sugar, whole milk, and salt, and continue blending until everything is evenly mixed.

Add the heavy cream and mix it gently with a spatula. At this point, there is no need to blend as the ice cream mixture will be churned in the ice cream maker. Preferably refrigerate the mixture for about 1-2 hours before churning.

Before churning, for the final time, give the mixture a good mix and then pour it into the ice cream maker bowl. Churn strawberry cheesecake ice cream for about 30 minutes until it is of soft-serve consistency.

In a freezer-safe container, layer about ⅓ graham cracker crumbles at the bottom. Pour and spread half the ice cream over it followed by half of the strawberry puree. Spread the puree evenly with a butter knife.

Repeat these 3 layers i.e., spread ⅓ graham cracker crumbles over the puree followed by the remainder of ice cream and puree, spreading each layer evenly with a butter knife.

Spread the remainder of the graham cracker crumbles at the top, cover the container and freeze the ice cream for about 5-6 hours before serving.

What does strawberry cheesecake ice cream taste like?

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream is creamy, delicious, and sweet in taste with a slight tanginess that balances the overall flavor of the ice cream. It has a creamy texture with crumbs of graham crackers and the sweetness of strawberries which makes every bite absolutely satisfying!

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